England vs. Hungary – Football Match Report – October 12, 2021

England took another, somewhat faltering step towards 2022 World Cup qualification when they drew 1-1 with Hungary at Wembley on Tuesday as they are now three points clear in the lead of group I with two matches to play.
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The match was marred by bleachers fighting between Hungarian supporters and police armed with batons just after kick-off, with riot police entering the fray as visiting supporters forced stewards and police to back into a tunnel.
On the pitch, the visitors were awarded a penalty from Roland Sallai after 24 minutes after England full-back Luke Shaw caught a leaning Loci Nego in the head as he attempted a clearance.
England equalized in the 37th minute when a Phil Foden free kick was given by Tyrone Mings and the ball was handed over by John Stones at close range.
“You can tell it’s bad because we drew but we dominated. Silly penalty to give but we got back into the game and we couldn’t get that murderous touch,” said the midfielder. English ground Declan Rice.
“Sometimes you have to give the opposition credit. Hungary were much better than when we faced them away.”
England were teeming with attacking talent but failed to win in a side they beat 4-0 in Budapest last month and created few additional chances against the wrestling visitors.
The result leaves England at the top of the group with a 20-point lead over Poland, who beat Albania (15 points) 1-0 away in another match affected by crowd problems.
Euro 2020 finalists England are still the big favorites to win the group via their remaining matches against Albania and San Marino next month, but have left some work after a performance described as disappointing by the ‘Coach Gareth Southgate.
“Hungary, to their credit. I thought they were causing us a tactical problem. We weren’t smooth and I didn’t think we were playing at the level we needed,” he said.
“We’re going to leave and think a bit about the balance of the team, but I think individually we can do better too.
âWe made a lot of simple mistakes with the ball. I think from the start we weren’t precise with our game, gave the ball, we got over things.
“So I just think we were under it. It’s the first time in a long time but we have to hold hands for this.”
Hungary, fourth with 11 points, need a miracle to stand a chance of snatching second place and a playoff spot but still celebrated Tuesday’s point as if they had won the World Cup.